Help Wanted
Scripture References
Isaiah 35:4-7a
The Ransomed Shall Return
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
James 2:1-10, 14-18
The Sin of Partiality
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Mark 7:24-37
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
Help Wanted
How many “Help Wanted” signs have you seen lately, not only locally, but everywhere you go? As you know, many businesses are adjusting how they do operations because they cannot get help. Deliveries are delayed because manufactures cannot get enough people to work. Employers are desperate to find ways to provide products and services with less help. It is ironic that this weekend we are celebrating Labor Day, the event in history where workers demanded lower hours and higher pay. Times have changed indeed, and it goes to show you how much things are affected when you are desperate for help.
Can you recall a time when you were desperate for help? What did you do? Today’s Gospel lesson in Mark 7, we hear about two people who are in desperate need.
In Time of Need
Mark first writes about a Woman with a demon possessed daughter and then about a deaf man with a speech impediment, both desperate for help. It is pivotal to note that these events took place in an “unclean region” according to most Jews as it was inhabited by “unclean” Gentiles.
Jesus travels into this hostile territory so to speak near Tyre and Sidon to seclude himself from the Scribes and Pharisees that confronted Him with the controversy of unclean traditions that we learned about the last couple of weeks where Jesus taught that defilement comes from within their heart.
But when Jesus arrived, word got around and His presence was soon known. A Gentile woman hears about his existence and seeks Him out, falls at His feet, and begs Him to expel the demon from her daughter.
This woman was desperate, and as you know a mother will do whatever it takes to provide for the wellbeing of her child. Interestingly enough, she knew Jesus was a healer and she knew in her heart that Jesus could help her possessed child. Throwing herself at Jesus’ feet was an example of pure humbleness and submission, praying of sorts for the wellbeing of her daughter.
Also, the fact that this woman was a Greek says a great deal about her being able to overcome the long-standing cultural barrier. She was quite aware that Jews not only looked down on Gentiles, but women as well. Furthermore, she was of Canaanite decent and would not have inherited any roots of faith that she was about to exhibit… The disciples in the parallel passage to this parable in Matthew 15 wanted to send her away because of these reasons. This being said, driven by the love for her daughter, unlike the disciples, she showed no trace of partiality and did not hesitate to fall at Jesus’ feet.
Show No Partiality
James in the Epistle lesson today warns us about the sins of partiality. Judging others based on their appearance, wealth or status. We must take note, there is no room for partiality in the life of faith and we must reflect that in our Christian living.
This reminds me of a video I watched about a pastor that dressed up as a homeless man and parked his grocery cart near the entrance of his church on Sunday morning to see what the reaction would be. Some stopped and offered help, but other members of the congregation walked by and avoided him. This was his way of testing their heart for sins of partiality. What would you do in a similar test?
These biases can corrupt our hearts and our relationship with Jesus. Not only did this woman show no partiality, but Jesus shows none as well and calls for his disciples… and you and me… to do the same.
This woman completely emptied herself before Jesus and was totally dependent on His mercy. She cried out with all her heart and all her strength at Jesus’ feet. There is a lessen to learn from her. When we come to the Lord in prayer, we must empty ourselves of all self-righteousness, hypocrisy and pride and kneel down before Jesus and beg for mercy. Whether we are asking for healing of a loved one, cure for an addiction, restoration of a relationship, or whatever it might be, we must pray with complete sincerity… and like this woman, come to Jesus with these requests.
But Jesus tells her “Not yet.” It’s as if He wanted to probe the depth of this Canaanite woman’s desire. He refers to her as one of the “dogs”, which is a term for Gentiles of little or no faith…
Jesus also suggests that her request for help is out of place… if he did agree to help her… He would be giving to her His favor, “bread”, that belongs only to the “children”, which is Israel, or the community of believers.
Help
There are times when we find ourselves on our knees begging for healing or mercy, and Jesus sometimes sends us a reply of “not yet…” or it might even be a “no…” We have all been there… so we must place our trust in the Lord for His providential purpose. Even though we have our “help wanted” sign out, we know He hears us, He cares for us, and he is always at work for us. He does not forget us or fail us because he tells us “No or not yet.”
This Syrophoenician woman was desperate for help. She displays her genuine faith as she says, “‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’” She first acknowledges Jesus as Lord and then admits she is one of the “dogs” Jesus referred to. Almost like she was praying, “God I know I am a poor miserable sinner and I deserve to be under the table with the dogs, but I am here to beg for your mercy for this one thing I ask of you.” She exhibited real humility. She accepted the fact that she was undeserving.
Humble Yourself
This is another thing to learn from this woman. How often have you asked for God’s blessing, without humility? I know I have at times. Especially during a routine mealtime prayer, but we must give ourselves entirely to God from deep within our hearts, blocking out the noise of the world… embracing who we are in Christ over who we are in the flesh.
In this woman’s heart, she knew the overflowing blessings that come from her Master’s table. She believed that out of the abundance of crumbs, she only needed one.
This woman obtained Jesus’ blessing and healing for her daughter through her persistent prayer, and humble faith. A point well taken as we must maintain our faith and persistence of prayer. If you have something that is important in your life, bring it to God and keep bringing it to Him. God is not hard of hearing; He wants to see commitment and faithfulness and trust. He wants to see how our attitude is while waiting patiently. God knows us and He will do what is best for us even if we don’t think so… in His time.
Through Faith
Through this woman’s great faith, she knew the demon would be driven out of her daughter when she got home, because her Lord said so. The daughter on the other hand, did not do anything to obtain Jesus’ blessing… but through her mother’s faith, she was completely healed. This demonstrates to us the tremendous power of intercessory prayer. We have to place our trust in God that this strategy is affective and pray for those whom He has put on our hearts…. With humility and persistence, prayer works, even if we cannot see the results.
Where did this woman’s great faith come from? How were her lips opened to speak the words of faith to Jesus?… The story of the deaf and mute man that follows her story in the Gospel today is the answer to that question. We do not know if this man is a Jew or a Gentile. The point is obvious that it doesn’t matter.
However, this man cannot hear and thus cannot speak plainly. A person that is deaf, especially in Jesus’ time, was cut off from society more so than blindness because of obviously not being able to hear what is going on around him. So, Jesus takes him aside, uses his saliva and touches his tongue, puts his finger in his ear, sighs, and looks up to heaven and says “Ephphatha,” (efatha) or be opened. Suddenly the man can hear and his speech is clear.
Through Faith Jesus Will Help
So, back to that question… How does this relate to the words that woman will say? How does the sinner’s heart become a heart from which beautiful and holy things proceed? It is because… Jesus opens ears and loosens tongues… He puts those holy and beautiful things inside our hearts and He draws them out of us like He drew them out of the Syrophoenician woman… Jesus will do this for you and me as well, no matter what life situation we are in.
Jesus always meets us where we are at. The deaf person needed the touch, the face-to-face contact, and needed to be with Jesus. The woman’s daughter received help from a distance through her mother’s faith. We all have different needs when we hang out our “help wanted” sign and Jesus will answer that call.
He came to us in our Baptism, He comes to us through His Word, He comes to us in the Sacraments. Jesus is here right now and will equip us with the same saving faith that this Syrophoenician woman had. We just need to come to Him.
This Canaanite lady come to Jesus and was given grace through her faith…
We can too… As children of God, we can make the connection between faith and outcomes. Faith becomes stronger in times of distress for those who feverously depend on God. (James 1:2-4).
This Gentile lady showed the relationship of faith and humility. Her humble disposition complimented her genuine faith… Great faith is seeing one’s complete dependence upon God. God’s grace will be extended to those who are humble before him. (Proverbs 4:31).
This Syrophoenician woman taught us that great faith endures. She was steadfast and resilient in her request of the Lord. This reminds us to always pray and never give up… Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
These parables exemplified that great faith in the Son of God will result in a great deliverance. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. … It is not from yourself or anything you’ve done, but the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
What wonderful messages we are delivered through the Word of God. God’s Word feeds our faith… and it is through our faith we will obtain the greater deliverance through our Almighty Healer for the salvation of our souls.
We heard these very words by Isaiah in the Old Testament reading today. We can give thanks that our God has come to save us! Jesus came to die for all of our sins and save us for all eternity. Now, we can look forward to heaven where there will never be any deaf ears, mute tongues, lame legs, cancer or pain.
My Help Comes From The Lord
Through our faith we need not fear judgement, as only perfection and joy await for God’s redeemed people!
Thus, Isaiah says, “Be strong, do not fear.”
God may not always give us what we want. We may not always understand God’s ways, but we can trust Him. Be strong and do not fear, for He has our earthly welfare and our eternal salvation at heart, not only on this holiday weekend, but in our coming and going forevermore.
Brothers and sisters in Christ. The next time you see a “help wanted” sign and are reminded that you too find yourself desperate for help… seek the answer the psalmist of 121 did, “Where does my help come from?” you will find the resounding answer, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” He is right here… right now… waiting to answer your call.
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,
Amen